


The Trick is To Keep Breathing

by thatmitchsentho



Category: Mitchsen - Fandom, Pitch Perfect
Genre: F/F, Sick Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-06-10 05:22:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15284586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatmitchsentho/pseuds/thatmitchsentho
Summary: Aubrey comes home from work one Friday afternoon to find her girlfriend Beca sick in bed. But like, really sick. Until the meds take hold there's not much she can do but wait, rub her back, and remind her to breathe.





	The Trick is To Keep Breathing

Aubrey Posen got home from work at her normal time on Friday, expecting to find her girlfriend Beca getting ready for her DJ shift at the club. But when she unlocked the door to the apartment, instead of finding the steady thrum of music that Beca always played as she got ready, she was greeted with absolute silence. Her eyebrows furrowed and she tugged her coat off, dropping her purse on the kitchen counter.

“Beca?” she called. There was a faint noise from the bedroom. Aubrey made a beeline for the door. It took her a moment, but she found Beca. Beca was buried in blankets on the bed, shivering, pale and roasting hot. When Aubrey tugged them down a little to check on her, she also found that she was completely naked.

“What’s going on?” Aubrey asked. 

“Sick,” she managed. “Called in sick. Had a shower… too tired to get dressed.”

“Beca,” Aubrey said. “You have to get dressed, you’ll just make it worse.” She watched for a moment as her girlfriend tried to raise her body off of the mattress, but she was feeble and weak. Aubrey was concerned now. Beca occasionally got laid up by whatever cold or virus was running around, but she never got sick like this. Even trying to sit up had left her short of breath and coughing.

“Can you breathe okay?” Aubrey asked.

“Hurts,” Beca mumbled between gasps.

“Just breathe for me,” Aubrey said. She got up and got her some underwear and pajamas, wrangling the smaller girl into them. She plumped some pillows up and set Beca down on them so she was raised somewhat and then went into the bathroom. She reappeared with a thermometer, and checked her temperature.

“You have a fever,” Aubrey said. “Not too high, but high enough.” She rinsed a washcloth with cool water and held it to her still shivering girlfriend’s head. Beca let out a wheezy cough, struggling to catch her breath afterward. 

“Can’t… breathe,” she managed. Aubrey took her hands and looked into her eyes. Beca couldn’t hold them long.

“I’m calling a doctor,” she said. “I don’t know who, but I am.” She got out her phone and Googled an after hours doctor who did house calls. She picked the first one that had a decent review and called for a doctor, the promised physician due to arrive in about thirty minutes. 

The doctor who arrived was a middle-aged man who looked competent and experienced, tugging a case on wheels that looked impressive. Aubrey breathed a sigh of relief. She led him into the bedroom where he quickly examined Beca - the younger girl still struggling to breathe or sit up unsupported - and listened to her chest. 

“Looks like a pretty solid chest infection to me,” he said quietly to Aubrey. “It sounds bad enough that I’d like to prescribe a steroid to clear her chest out. Is she asthmatic or short of breath normally?”

“No, not at all,” Aubrey said. “She’s a singer. She’s got great lung capacity.”

“Then I’ll definitely prescribe the steroid,” he said. “Antibiotics won’t really help with this one. If she hasn’t started to improve in 48 hours, though, you’ll need to follow up with your primary doctor and get a chest x-ray. It doesn’t sound like pneumonia, but that doesn’t mean it won’t develop.”

“What can I do to help?”

“Sleeping propped up will lessen the tightness a little,” he said. “Also if you have one, a steam inhaler or hot showers, plenty of fluids, avoid dairy, Tylenol for the fever and bed rest.”

“Okay,” Aubrey said. “How does payment with this work? Check? Credit card?”

“Credit is fine,” he said. “I’ll write that prescription for you now, but I can give you a dose for now and for the morning out of my stock, so you don’t have to go out again tonight if you’re happy to pay for it.”

“That’s fine, I appreciate it,” Aubrey said. The doctor quickly opened his case and found the steroid he was after, then wrote the prescription and handed them both to Aubrey. 

“One pill three times daily,” he said. “With water.”

“Got it,” she said. “And is she contagious?”

“Yes,” he said. “For a few days at least. If you tend to catch whatever’s going around I’d maybe camp out on the couch at least for the next two nights. But like I said, if she’s not improving by Monday, you need to get her to your primary care doctor. I’ll phone on Monday myself just to make sure she’s doing better.” 

“I promise,” Aubrey said. She thanked the doctor and handed over her credit card, after which he left. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge for Beca and a straw, and took one of the little pills in to her.

“Verdict?” she mumbled. Aubrey pulled some Tylenol from her bedside table.

“Chest infection,” Aubrey said. “You’re out of action for a while, babe, I’m sorry.” Beca just coughed.

“Kay.”

“He’s prescribing steroids,” she continued. “I have one here for you and some Tylenol. You’re still going to feel really crummy for the next two days.” Beca took the pills and then allowed Aubrey to put the straw into her mouth so she could wash them down. Unfortunately it started another vicious round of coughing, Aubrey powerless to do anything but rub her back and remind her to breathe.

“Contagious?” she managed.

“Yeah,” Aubrey said. Beca legitimately pouted. “I know, Beca. I really want to lay in bed with you and help you feel better, but the doc reckons you’re likely to spread it if I sleep in here the next two days.” Beca just nodded. Aubrey felt horrible. She wanted to be next to Beca. The girl could barely sit up on her own and she needed to have someone take close care of her. And her own immune system was rock solid; she hadn’t taken a sick day in four years. 

“Oh, screw that,” Aubrey said. “I’m staying in here. I want to be here for you.” The smile was weak, but she could tell it was the right thing to do. She was buried deep into the pillows, looking smaller and paler than normal.

“You’ll be okay,” Aubrey promised. “Just get some sleep. I’m going to take a shower and then have something to eat, but I’m not going anywhere.” She made Beca drink some more water before she left. By the time she showered and dressed in her pajamas, Beca was sleeping again, wheezy breaths rattling through her chest. It sounded horrible. 

She quickly made some grilled cheese and ate as fast as she could. She wanted to be next to Beca. After she put her plate in the dishwasher, she crept back into the bedroom and slid into the bed. She picked up the book she’d been reading and flicked on the dull lamp next to her side of the bed. Beca didn’t wake but her eyelids fluttered and her hand moved. Aubrey smoothed her hair down gently a few times. She curled up, not facing Beca - it was the closest she was going to get to preventing germs - and read for a while. 

When she did finally sleep, it was a light sleep. She heard Beca coughing during the night, waking up with her once to help her to the bathroom. She actually ended up carrying her most of the way, despite Beca’s breathless protest that she could do it on her own. 

When morning came, she got up and made some coffee before returning to bed. Beca woke a few hours later, coughing again. Aubrey helped her to the bathroom once more and then made her take the other pill the doctor had left. “I have to go to the pharmacy,” she said. “To get your prescription filled. I’ll go straight there and straight back. Will you be okay?”

“Yeah,” she managed through ragged breaths. “Can you bring my computer in?”

“Beca, I’m not going to let you work,” Aubrey said.

“Cartoons,” she said. Aubrey smiled. Beca did like cartoons. Movies, she might sit through one every once in a while with Aubrey unless it was a flat out chick flick. But cartoons were her weakness. Especially nineties cartoons. Aubrey went and got it for her and logged her in so she could pick something to watch. She pressed a kiss to Beca’s forehead, noting that her fever had broken because she was considerably cooler. Then she left the apartment.

She hurried to the pharmacy and back, grabbing the prescription and some Tylenol. She also stopped off and got a few groceries so she wouldn’t have to go out for a few days, including some clear chicken soup for when Beca was going to start feeling better. When she got home, Beca was asleep again, computer playing an old episode of Daria at low volume. She closed the laptop and shifted it, pressing a hand to the girl’s forehead. It was starting to heat up again, but she didn’t know if it was fever or heat from being asleep. 

She was distracted by Beca’s phone ringing. Digging through the pockets of the jeans she’d been wearing the night before, she found it and answered, seeing the caller was Beca’s boss George. “Beca Mitchell’s phone.”

“Beca? No, Aubrey?” George said. “How is she? She called in sick last night.”

“She’s pretty bad,” Aubrey said. “I think she’ll be out for a week minimum. It’s a pretty bad chest infection.”

“Shit, serious?”

“Yeah, she can barely sit up on her own,” Aubrey said. “Let me guess, she said she needed to sleep it off and she’d be right in the morning?”

“Yeah, you know her,” he said. “Tell her to rest up and not to come back til she’s feeling up to it, okay?”

“I will, George, thank you,” Aubrey said. She hung the phone up and then turned it off. Beca was mumbling, and ended up stirring to the point of being semi conscious, so she made her drink some water and take a few more Tylenol before she went back to sleep. 

It was horrible to watch Beca struggling to breathe evenly even as she slept. It looked like her sleep wasn’t anywhere close to being restful. She kept a close eye on her as she spluttered and coughed through a few more hours of sleep before waking up.

“Hey,” Aubrey said softly. “How you feeling?”

“Shitty,” Beca coughed. 

“Want me to run you a hot shower? The steam will help clear out your lungs and then you can have some juice and some more steroids.” Beca nodded, so Aubrey got up and ran the shower. Then she came back and helped Beca out of her clothes and into the bathroom. She was supporting herself a lot better than the previous night, but she was still really weak. She ended up sitting on the floor of the shower, inhaling the steam for a long time. She began to cough up junk, spitting it out into the drain. 

After she was finished, she managed to dry herself off and dress in the clean pajamas Aubrey had brought her, then she settled back into the bed, which had miraculously had the sheets changed. 

“You changed the sheets?” Beca asked.

“Yeah, you were sweating like crazy last night thanks to your fever,” Aubrey said. “How are you feeling?”

“Um, a little hungry?” Beca said. “Like maybe soup?” That was good to hear, it meant she was on the improve. Aubrey heated her up a little soup, and a single piece of toast as well, then brought it in to the bedroom. Beca was restarting her cartoons and moved the laptop down toward the end of the bed.

“Want some juice?” Aubrey asked. 

“Just water,” Beca said. “Thanks.” Aubrey got the water, another pill and some Tylenol for her and took them back in. 

“Are you feeling better than last night?” Aubrey asked.

“Yeah,” Beca said, swallowing the medication. “I’m not sure, maybe my fever’s gone?” Aubrey reached a hand up and felt her forehead. It was warm, but didn’t have that roasting hot and damp feeling of a few hours earlier, possibly remnant heat from the hot shower.

“You feel much cooler,” Aubrey said. “I was worried about you.”

“What did the doc say exactly?” Beca said, shifting her pillows so she could sit up a little better. “I heard you last night but I don’t remember much after getting into bed naked.” Aubrey relayed the doctor’s visit and explained that George had called and that Aubrey had said she’d be off work for a week.

“A week?” Beca groaned. 

“Bec, you could barely get yourself sitting upright and I had to carry you to the bathroom,” Aubrey said.

“I thought I dreamed that.” She shrugged and returned to her soup. She ate almost the whole bowl, and the piece of toast. Aubrey managed to get her to drain the bottle of water as well.

“How’s your chest?”

“Still tight and it hurts to breathe, but better than last night,” Beca said. She reclined back against the pillow. Aubrey cleaned up and then climbed onto the bed next to Beca. The smaller girl curled into her, Aubrey’s hand found its way automatically into her hair and began stroking softly. Beca sighed sleepily. She was so constantly exhausted.

“Love you,” she managed. 

“I love you too,” Aubrey said. Beca’s breathing evened out as she fell asleep, still short and wheezy. She gently got out of bed and took her own shower, did a load of laundry and tidied the kitchen. She was just beginning to entertain the idea of dinner when she heard Beca coughing from the next room. She grabbed some water and went back in, finding Beca sitting up and coughing violently, battling for air. She rubbed her back gently and tried to encourage her to breathe, until her coughing stopped. Then she handed Beca the water.

“You okay?” she asked as Beca took a long drink.

“Yeah,” she said. “Just wish I could get rid of all this shit in my lungs. And I’m coughing so much my ribs are starting to hurt.” Aubrey kissed her on the forehead.

“I hate that you’re so sick,” she said. “I wish I could do something.” Beca fell back against her wedge of pillows.

“You are,” Beca said. “You’re actually taking really good care of me. You got me a doctor, drugs, changed me, showered me, carried me to the bathroom, bring me meds and food, cuddle me…. There’s not a single thing you aren’t doing. You’re the best.”

“Want to watch some more cartoons?” Aubrey asked.

“See?” Beca said. “The best.” Aubrey loaded them up and Beca curled into her as they watched two more episodes of Daria. Beca said she wasn’t feeling particularly hungry but was talked into eating a little fruit, and Aubrey made herself a quick salad and they had dinner in bed. After they’d finished Beca began to get a little grumpy again, so Aubrey gave her the third pill for the day and some water, and left her to sleep. She watched a movie on the couch and spoke to Chloe and Stacie, both of whom sent their healing wishes. Stacie promised to check in on Beca after Aubrey had to go back to work on Monday, since she was in the middle of school holidays and had no classes to teach. 

She heard Beca get up and go the bathroom, and went in to the bedroom to make sure she was okay. Beca was still exhausted, but she drank some more water before falling back asleep, still punctuating the rest with bouts of coughing. Aubrey changed and climbed into bed next to her, reading some more of her book. 

Beca was awake before her the next morning, and clearly feeling much better than she did the previous day. She was sitting upright, her eyes seemed clearer and from the way she was breathing it looked like the tightening in her chest was finally starting to loosen up, though she still had a horrible sounding cough. She was scrolling through the messages she’d been ignoring on her phone while she’d been sick.

“Hey,” Aubrey said. “You look like you’re feeling better.”

“Not planning on running a marathon any time soon,” Beca said, “but compared to yesterday I am.”

“That’s good news,” Aubrey said. “Do you need anything?”

“I kind of really want to take a shower,” Beca said. “And I need to wash my hair.”

“Do you want me to give you a hand?”

“I think I’ll be fine,” Beca said. “But I won’t make it too hot or anything.”

“Okay,” Aubrey said. “I’ll make some eggs for breakfast?”

“That sounds great,” Beca said. She got up and disappeared into the bathroom, and Aubrey headed into the kitchen. Beca was in the shower for a long time, and when she emerged from the bedroom in clean clothes, hair clean and still damp, she looked markedly better.

“Thought you were just making eggs,” she said, pointing to the plates as she poured some juice so she could take her medication. 

“Poached eggs with avocado on toast,” Aubrey said. 

“I’m not complaining,” Beca said. “Smells awesome. I’ll get some juice.” Aubrey watched her. She seemed still out of breath, but she was definitely an improved version of the girl she found in bed on Friday night. They ate breakfast together and instead of going back into the bedroom, Beca parked on the couch.

“How’s your breathing?” Aubrey asked.

“Um, it doesn’t hurt so much,” Beca said, “But it’s definitely still tight. Like I don’t think I’d make it up a flight of stairs. Even just walking around the apartment is kicking my ass a bit. So yeah, I can see why the doc wants me off for a week. A full set at the club like this would probably kill me.”

“Anything you want to do?” Aubrey asked.

“Not really, just kind of needed a change of scenery,” Beca said. “Want to watch cartoons with me?”

“Put them on,” Aubrey said. “I’ll take a shower, but then I’ll bring my laptop out. I’ve got some work I need to put in on this article submission while we watch.”

“When are you going to be submitting it?” Beca said. “Didn’t you say the deadline for the next journal was soon?”

“It’s Tuesday,” Aubrey said. “Which is why instead of calling in to work and saying I won’t be in tomorrow I’ve got to go to work. But Stacie said she’d drop by.”

“Awesome,” Beca said. “I haven’t had the chance to catch up with her in a while.”

“She’s not going to let you work,” Aubrey warned. Beca just rolled her eyes. Aubrey leaned over and kissed her quickly. “I won’t be long.” Beca’s bottom lip jutted out just a little.

“What?” Aubrey said.

“If I weren’t sick I could join you,” she said.

“Well, that’s just an incentive for you to heal up as quickly as possible,” Aubrey said. Beca set up her cartoons on the television, and started an episode while she waited for Aubrey to come back. When she did come back, she was toting her laptop, work briefcase and a bottle of water for Beca.

“Do you need me to turn it down?” Beca offered. 

“No, it’s fine,” she said. Aubrey had no problem working on the couch next to Beca, rubbing her back when she starting coughing again and shifting so she could balance her laptop better as Beca leaned in against her. It was another two episodes before Aubrey felt the weight settle fully against her arm, signaling that Beca was asleep. She balanced her laptop on the arm of the couch and gently lay Beca down, covering her up with a blanket. She stirred but didn’t wake, and Aubrey moved to the dining room table, sitting in eye-line of her slumbering girlfriend as she worked on her article. 

She had it ready for submission not long after and saved a copy, emailed it to herself, and then sent a hard copy to the printer as well. She breathed a sigh of relief and packed her stuff up, returning to the living room just as Beca began to cough her lungs up again. She struggled for a few moments, sitting up and gasping in a breath, Aubrey hurrying over to make sure she was okay.

“God it’s all fun and games til I start coughing myself stupid,” Beca said. “Laying down is such a bad idea, every time I’m horizontal…” She coughed again and accepted the water bottle Aubrey held out. 

“You okay?” Aubrey asked. Beca nodded.

“Yeah,” Beca replied. “How’s the article?”

“Completely done,” Aubrey said. “I’ll send it off tomorrow as soon as Preston reads it over but I don’t think he’ll have any last minute changes. Hungry?”

“Mac and cheese?” Beca asked. Aubrey laughed at her puppy dog eyes.

“Beca cheese - that artificial cheese especially - is just gonna make your coughing worse,” Aubrey said. “But I promise once the cough is gone, I’ll make you mac and cheese just the way you like it. What about if we get Thai?”

“Sure,” Beca said with a yawn. “I’m actually still kind of tired, so I’m going to go back to sleep until the food gets here if you don’t mind.” She didn’t lay back down, instead propping herself upright on the couch and closing her eyes. Aubrey ordered their lunch and then cleaned the apartment a little, just quiet stuff that wouldn’t wake Beca. Their food didn’t take long and she gently shook Beca to wake her up.

“Food’s here,” Aubrey said. “Want me to get your meds?” Beca shook her head, still waking up.

“I gotta pee anyway,” she said. She got up and headed to the bathroom, picking up her pills and some water on the way back. By the time she sat down she was out of breath again. 

“You okay?” Aubrey asked.

“Yeah,” Beca said, swallowing the pill. “This bit’s just gonna hang around, I think. This and the cough.”

“Well let’s hope that the ginger and chili and everything else in here can help clear you out a little,” Aubrey said. They ate lunch together and then just spent the afternoon hanging out on the couch together. It was a nice, easy way to kill the remainder of the weekend, and they went to bed together happy, Beca exhausted and asleep almost immediately.

Aubrey checked in with her a few times the next day while she was working. From all accounts, Stacie had gone over to keep Beca company and they’d spent the day listening to music, eating whatever food Stacie had cooked - Aubrey was jealous of that, Stacie was quite handy in the kitchen. She’d gotten her article checked over by boss and they submitted it to the law journal, which was the most pressing thing for the day. She didn’t have much else on at the moment, she was well prepared in terms of work that was coming up. Her boss ended up noticing mid afternoon that she was a little restless.

“You okay, Posen?” he asked. “You seem a little distracted, out of it.”

“Oh it’s nothing, I’m sorry,” she said. “Beca was pretty sick over the weekend with a chest infection. Still not a hundred percent.” The older man checked his watch.

“Take off,” he said. “It’s only a couple hours at this point. It’s not like you’re in court or anything.” She thanked him profusely, assembled her things and went to catch a taxi home. She texted Beca saying she was on her way home.

Stacie had left before she got home, but Beca seemed to be in a great mood. As soon as Aubrey was changed into some yoga pants and a shirt she kissed her hard. Aubrey was startled, but kissing Beca was just about one of her favorite things to do in the whole world, so she went with it. She was happy to keep kissing her except Beca’s hands we’re starting to move now, and Aubrey knew what was coming. And her body was absolutely screaming yes, but she knew that it wasn’t a good idea yet. 

“Beca, I don’t want to risk making you stop breathing or something,” Aubrey said, still responding to the kisses.

“I should be fine,” Beca said. “I’ve missed this.” Her hands moved up the front of Aubrey’s shirt and Aubrey knew she had to stop her before she lost control of herself and let Beca carry on.

“No,” Aubrey said. “Wait.” Beca stopped and pulled back.

“Okay,” Beca said. 

“It’s just… I know how carried away we can get and… it’s been a bit longer than normal because you were sick and I worked late those couple of days so I could get that article done which means we probably would get carried away,” Aubrey said. “And you can walk around the apartment okay but that doesn’t mean you’d be able to, say, walk upstairs to the apartment and downstairs without losing your breath.”

“You have a point,” Beca said. “I get it. It’d be pretty traumatic if I stopped breathing during sex, I guess.” 

“But Beca?” Aubrey said, tilting her face up.

“Yeah?”

“The kissing? We can do more of that,” Aubrey said. Beca smiled and her arms wound their way back Aubrey’s neck and she leaned up their press their lips together again. Aubrey let herself sink into the kiss for a moment.

“It should only be a couple more days though, right?” Beca said against her lips.

“A week max, hopefully,” Aubrey said back before diving back in.

“I can probably make that,” Beca said. She pulled Aubrey with her so they landed on the bed together, Beca crawling up her slightly taller girlfriend’s body and settling against her. “For now, I’m happy here.”


End file.
